• Brookdale Shares Hit Seven-Year High

    Brookdale Senior Living has posted occupancy increases for several consecutive months. The operator has lagged behind the industry for a decade now, so it is about time.  Weighted average occupancy has increased each month since January, beginning at 79.2% and reaching 82.5% in September. The third quarter’s average of 81.8% is up 290 basis... Read More »
  • Newmark’s Nearly $2 Billion Third Quarter

    Newmark is in the middle of a banner year for both investment sales and debt financings, and both its deal volume and activity appears to be accelerating as the year progresses. In the year to date, the team has closed nearly $3.6 billion in investment sales, and $1.9 billion in the third quarter alone. Excluding the Amica Senior Lifestyles... Read More »
  • Clarion Partners Makes Its First Seniors Housing Purchase

    Clarion Partners made its first seniors housing acquisition, buying Sancerre at Atlee Station in Mechanicsville, Virginia (Richmond MSA). Built in 2023, the community features 103 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care. It experienced a rapid lease-up, reaching 90% occupancy by October 2024. Census is now in the mid-90s, and... Read More »
  • LTC Properties Continues to Reduce Skilled Nursing Exposure to Support SHOP Growth

    LTC Properties sold two skilled nursing facilities in Florida totaling 240 beds for $42 million, or $175,000 per bed, with expectations of a gain on the sale of approximately $26 million. These two facilities are part of a divestment effort that includes five additional SNFs. An undisclosed operator (one of LTC Properties’ top 10 operating... Read More »
  • Kentucky SNF Sells with Blueprint’s Help

    Blueprint finished the third quarter with 48 deal closings valued at $840 million. Included in that impressive activity were four closings in Kentucky totaling more than $200 million in dollar volume. Big bucks in the Bluegrass State. In one of those closings, Blueprint represented a local family with its sale of a high performing skilled nursing... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: The Republican Budget and Medicaid Cuts

60 Seconds with Swett: The Republican Budget and Medicaid Cuts

There will be significant political interest in what happens to Medicaid funding as Republicans work to pass a budget and tax bill with their very slim majority. Touching entitlements remains politically risky, and the party is divided on whether any Medicaid cuts would be acceptable heading into an election cycle. At this stage, per-capita caps on federal Medicaid payments to states do not appear to be under serious consideration. However, even without direct federal cuts, rulemaking changes could materially affect Medicaid-dependent providers. CMS has issued a proposed rule that aims to close what it describes as a Medicaid “tax loophole” that some states have used to inflate federal... Read More »
Sonida Senior Living Continues Upward Trend

Sonida Senior Living Continues Upward Trend

We are at the end of the first quarter 2025 earning roll call, and Sonida Senior Living posted another solid quarter. Weighted average occupancy for its same-community portfolio (56 communities) increased by 100 basis points year over year to 86.8%, which is at the top end of many of its competitors. In addition, same-community RevPOR increased by 5.5% to $4,274 year over year, same-community net operating income increased by 19.3% to $16.1 million, and the same-community operating margin jumped by 280 basis points to 27.6%.  On a sequential basis, RevPOR increased by 1.8%, same-community net operating income increased by 4.5%, and same-community net operating margin jumped by 80... Read More »
Brookdale Occupancy Hits 81%

Brookdale Occupancy Hits 81%

Brookdale Senior Living reported its first quarter earnings results, and it appears to be building on the momentum started at the end of 2024. In addition, month-end occupancy in April topped 81.0%, marking the ninth straight month with ending occupancy above 80.0%. While it is great the company is making progress, there is still a lot more work to do.  After declining in the second half of 2024, the seniors housing operating margin increased to 28.4% in the first quarter. This represents a 130-basis point increase from the year-ago quarter, but a whopping 290-basis point increase sequentially. Meanwhile, RevPOR increased by 3.0% year over year and 4.6% sequentially, contributing to... Read More »
NHI Raises Guidance in Q1 Earnings Report

NHI Raises Guidance in Q1 Earnings Report

National Health Investors came out with its first quarter earnings and reported modest improvements in several financial metrics from the year-ago quarter. The REIT also increased its 2025 annual guidance range, which investors must have liked, pushing up the share price by nearly 3% in the trading hours following the announcement and earnings call to hit year-to-date highs. Net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted common share for the Q1:25 was $0.74 compared to $0.71 during the same period in the prior year. It also included approximately $300,000 in proxy contest and related expenses for a proxy campaign launched by activist investor Jonathan Litt’s Land &... Read More »
NHI Raises Guidance in Q1 Earnings Report

Ventas Posts Decent Q1 Earnings

Ventas came out with its first quarter earnings at the end of April, and although the results were decent, it may not have been the best timing to follow the strong quarter posted by Welltower earlier this week, as Ventas’s stock price tumbled 6.4% seemingly because the REIT affirmed its full-year guidance rather than increased it. By contrast, Welltower raised guidance and its stock price jumped 3.5% on the news. Ventas provided commentary on guidance for 2025 normalized FFO per share, outlining that it benefited from NOI growth in the SHOP segment and from accretive seniors housing investment activity in 2024 and expected in 2025. But it was partially offset by the impact of higher net... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: The Republican Budget and Medicaid Cuts

60 Seconds with Swett: Welltower Is on a Roll

Welltower came out with its first quarter earnings on Tuesday, and surprise, surprise, it was yet another great quarter, and its share price jumped 3.5% immediately upon the news. It was the tenth consecutive quarter in which same store SHOP NOI growth exceeded 20%, at 21.7% in the first quarter. Guidance for same store NOI growth also rose by 100 basis points to a midpoint of 19.0% for FY2025. On Tuesday’s call, Welltower did mention that SHOP margins remain below pre-pandemic levels, but they may not be for long. Also, that issue currently plagues thousands of communities in this country and was prevalent in the years before COVID too. Perhaps that is why most of what we hear from... Read More »